[john1970]

To all AC'ers,

I have an interesting hypothetical question:

If you were to spend <$1000 on a solid digital source is it a better long-term purchase to buy:

A) A dedicated CD player

OR

B) A separate DAC combined with a reasonable (<$200) DVD source such as a low-end Denon.

I am interested in feedback, because it seems to me that today transports generally do not last too long.  It makes more sense to me to buy a solid DAC (either used or new) for ~$700 and partner it with a low cost transport as mentioned above.

All opinions are welcome..I am looking for feedback.

Thank you,

John

[G Georgopoulos]

Hi John
i would go for A option the reason is that the whole system would be more compatible
and fully tested, the second option sounds good value for money but if youre looking
for the best i dont know how an average transport can be good for a high-end DAC

other members may have a different opinion, my experience with transport+DAC is limited

cheers

[john1970]

Thanks for the feedback.  If going with either option please provide recommend componets that are <$1K (new or used) although I'd prefer new CD players so I know the CD transport is solid.

Thanks,

John

[denjo]

Option B was what I took! The heart of any digital source is the DAC. You will be working more of your $$$ by spending it on a good DAC than you would the transport. I chose the Altmann Attraction DAC - quirky looks but glorious sound!Never looked back!

Just my 2c worth!

Denjo

[Rocket]

Hi,

Option B is what i use.  You could buy a secondhand modwright perpetual technologies p3a with a transport which is what i use.

Regards

Rod

[koiman]

Option (B) I have a Denon CD player and run a Bel Canto Dac 2 and this makes a great combo..

[Marbles]

Long term a computer will be the best transport.  I would start researching products like the Empirical Audio  modded stuff like the USB to I2s Off Ramp and their modded dacs(very pricey but great) or the Red Wine and Bolder modded Squeezbox offerings or their other computer related stuff. 

If you can find an Empirical modded Sony S7700 DVDP for not much money, that would make a dandy transport as well until you can get a computer up and going.

[Bob Reynolds]

This is a tough question because in either case you typically do not know enough about how the system is built to make an informed decision. Unless someone like David Rich has reviewed the component and analyzed the design and schematic, we are pretty much guessing. It needs to be pointed out that regardless of what else is done prior to the analog output stage, it is this circuit that can either make or break the design.

In theory you'd expect a single box design to yield better results just because the designer has total control over the entire system. So in the CD player case, I'd consider any of: Rega Apollo, Rotel RCD1072, Cambridge Audio xxx, and NAD C542. Rotel has such a long history of making good solid CD players I would give it the nod. Plus, it's generally accepted that the PMD100/PMD200 HDCD digital filters are very good.

In the 2-box case you can accept that any reasonable transport is good enough and have control over allocating a larger portion of your budget on the DAC and analog output section. In this case I'd consider any Pioneer DVD player that passes 24/96KHz to its digital output plus the Benchmark DAC 1. I'm a believer that pro audio gear is typically built to a higher standard, so I'm assuming that the analog output of the DAC 1 is quite good.